Christian Groups 'Outraged' At Reform Conference Held In Church House

27 February 2026
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Catherine WyattBBC spiritual affairs


A number of Christian groups have actually spoken of their "shock and frustration" that Reform UK was allowed to use the Church of England's head office for an interview.


They said the party's migration policies were opposed to Church beliefs and teachings.


Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced his new leading team at an interview in the Assembly Hall at Church House in Westminster last week.


The celebration stated the criticism was "little bit more than a low-cost political stunt".


Church House, whose lettings policy says it does not accept bookings from groups which "promote racial prejudice", said it ran on an industrial basis, and was not part of the Church of England.


Christians for a Welcoming Britain said it was "outraged" that Church House had allowed Reform UK to use the location, which it produced the impression the Church provided its "blessing" to "hostile policies and dissentious rhetoric".


Other organisations and parties - including the Conservatives and Labour - have formerly utilized the location, as have Reform numerous times.


But it was their newest occasion, hosted inside the chamber where the Church of England had just the week before held its nationwide assembly, General Synod, which caused the most significant stir.


Christians from the groups Better Story, Against the Far Right and Christians for a Welcoming Britain, have written to Church House to complain.


In his letter, Reverend Keith Brindle, a Church of England priest in Frome, and organizer of Christians Against the Far Right, wrote that the location had been "utilized as a moral backdrop for policies that contradict the very heart of the Christian faith".


He composed: "Church House has provided a veneer of spiritual authenticity to Reform's anti-migrant and anti-Muslim politics, and their cynical scapegoating.


"As followers of Jesus, we should refuse to let the architecture of our faith be used to endorse the dehumanisation of our neighbours.


"The Church must be a sanctuary for the displaced, not a platform for their expulsion."


At Reform UK's event, Zia Yusuf was revealed as the party's lead on home affairs, with a focus on cutting legal and unlawful migration.


The celebration has considering that revealed strategies to develop a "UK Deportation Command", a brand-new agency to perform mass deportations of prohibited migrants.


It was not the very first time Church House had actually come under fire for its usage by external organisations.


In late 2020, the location hosted 2 boxing battles sponsored by online gaming firm 32Red.


At the time, critics argued that gambling addiction was destructive, and need to not be seen to be promoted by the Church.


Campaigners have likewise previously opposed Royal United Services Institute (Rusi)'s annual Land Warfare Conference being hosted at the place.


In a statement to the BBC, Church House said it accepted "bookings from organisations that fulfill our ethical lettings policy, subject to accessibility".


The policy states that reservations may be rejected if "the hirer promotes views which are anathema to the teachings of the Church of England, as might be verified by its Synodical or Episcopal statement from time to time, such as groups which promote racial prejudice".


A Reform UK spokesperson told the BBC: "This is bit more than an inexpensive political stunt by a group that is totally out of touch with the British public.


"Poll after poll shows immigration is a leading concern for voters. Attempting to close down debate on a subject near voters' hearts is both un-Christian and authoritarian."